The verdict in three sentences
For a manufacturer instrumenting 400 sensors, a custom monitoring platform costs EUR 45,000 to 80,000 excl. VAT depending on analytics depth and integrations. The key recurring line is the time-series database, between EUR 150 and 400 a month for 2 million daily readings. ROI comes from avoided machine stoppages: three a year at EUR 12,000 each save EUR 36,000 annually.
What an industrial monitoring platform must do
An operations manager does not want a pretty dashboard: they want to know, in under two minutes, which machine is drifting and why. A useful platform combines reliable collection, timestamped storage, alert thresholds the shop floor can configure, and history the maintenance team can actually use.
Around Amsterdam, Eindhoven and Rotterdam, many Dutch manufacturers in precision engineering, food processing or plastics already have sensors, but the data sits in PLCs or manually exported CSV files. The project is to push it through MQTT or OPC UA, normalise it, and make it readable for three audiences: operators, maintenance technicians and management.
| Functional block | Concrete role | Indicative 2026 cost (excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| MQTT / OPC UA ingestion | Collects 400 sensors, buffer queue during outages | EUR 6,000 to 10,000 |
| Time-series database | Stores 2 million readings/day, 24-month retention | EUR 5,000 to 8,000 (setup) |
| Real-time dashboards | Plant, line and machine views, 5 s refresh | EUR 10,000 to 18,000 |
| SMS and email alert engine | Thresholds, hysteresis, on-call escalation | EUR 5,000 to 9,000 |
| Vibration trend analysis | Drift detection, predictive maintenance indicators | EUR 8,000 to 20,000 |
| Access rights and audit | Operator, maintenance, management roles, action log | EUR 4,000 to 7,000 |
| CMMS / ERP integration | Automatic work order creation | EUR 7,000 to 8,000 |
A core version (ingestion, storage, dashboards, alerts) lands around EUR 45,000. The full version with vibration analysis and CMMS connection approaches EUR 80,000.
Recurring costs and technical choices
Running costs depend mainly on data volume and retention. With 400 sensors sending a reading roughly every 15 seconds, you reach 2 million points a day, over 700 million a year. A suitable database (TimescaleDB, InfluxDB or ClickHouse) compresses this data 10 to 20 times.
| Recurring item | 2026 monthly range | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Managed time-series database | EUR 150 to 400 | Depends on retention (12 or 24 months) and replication |
| Application hosting (EU) | EUR 120 to 250 | Servers in the Netherlands or Germany |
| SMS alert gateway | EUR 20 to 60 | About EUR 0.05 per SMS, 400 to 1,000 SMS/month |
| Monitoring and backups | EUR 50 to 100 | Monitoring, daily encrypted backups |
| Evolutive maintenance | EUR 600 to 1,500 | Bug fixes + small improvements |
| Monthly total | EUR 940 to 2,310 | 2026 order of magnitude |
Two structural decisions to make early: European cloud hosting or an on-premise server in the plant (useful if the OT network is isolated), and storage granularity. Keeping raw readings for 90 days and then per-minute aggregates often cuts the storage bill by three.
Timeline and delivery method
A project like this ships in 12 to 16 weeks. The first four connect a sample of 40 sensors and validate the full chain, from reading to alert. It then scales to all 400 sensors, and thresholds are tuned with the shop floor during a one-month run-in. This avoids the classic trap: a beautiful dashboard firing 200 false alerts a week that nobody looks at anymore.
Mini case study
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Daan, operations manager at an 85-employee machining company near Amsterdam, instruments 400 sensors on 32 machines. He chooses a EUR 62,000 platform with vibration analysis and a recurring cost of EUR 1,400 a month, i.e. EUR 16,800 a year.
Year 1 calculation: three avoided stoppages at EUR 12,000 each equal EUR 36,000. Add 6 hours a week of manual readings eliminated, about 280 hours a year at EUR 40 loaded cost, so EUR 11,200. Annual gain: EUR 47,200. Net gain after recurring costs: EUR 30,400. The project pays back in just over two years, and in 20 months if the platform avoids a fourth stoppage.
FAQ
How much does a custom IoT platform for 400 sensors cost?
Expect EUR 45,000 to 80,000 excl. VAT for the build, depending on analytics and integrations. Running costs then range from EUR 940 to 2,300 a month, time-series database included.
Why not use an off-the-shelf IoT SaaS?
SaaS offers often charge EUR 2 to 6 per sensor per month, i.e. EUR 9,600 to 28,800 a year for 400 sensors. They adapt poorly to specific shop-floor protocols and business alert rules.
Does my data stay in the EU?
Yes, hosting can sit in a Dutch or German data centre or on a server inside the plant. Encrypted backups are kept for at least 30 days.
How long until a first go-live?
A pilot on 40 sensors runs within 4 weeks. Full deployment on 400 sensors takes 12 to 16 weeks in total.
Is predictive maintenance reliable from day one?
You need 3 to 6 months of history to calibrate vibration drift models. Fixed-threshold alerts work from the first day.
Let's scope your project. Send us your sensor count, protocols and alert priorities: we will price a monitoring platform between EUR 45,000 and 80,000 excl. VAT, delivered in 12 to 16 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
